Returning riders

[Tank]

I ride with a mate who is a returning rider.

As is so often the case - they think they can just jump back on a bike and it will be the same as it was x years ago.

Obv. they learn pretty quick that they are really rusty.

If you could give one tip / hint / reminder to a returning rider - what would it be?

Best reply gets some bling in about May 2012 when my infractions run out.

[McDuck]

Dont ride at what you 'think' you can do, ride to 5% above what you have alredy done till you find a safe limit.

[piston broke]

:mellow::mellow::mellow:

[Mully]

If you could give one tip / hint / reminder to a returning rider - what would it be?


Go do RRRS. Practice what you learn. Rinse, repeat

(Or is that four hints??)

[pritch]

Make haste slowly.

[Ocean1]

Make slow, hastily.

Fixed.


10fchar

[Hailwood]

You are now about 50% of how good you actually used to be and 20% as good as you think you were.. Ride like it

[James Deuce]

Sell the Gixxer Thou, buy a CBF250, leave your balls at the door, and get some training. You couldn't ride properly the last time around either.

[Conquiztador]

Make sure you have good insurance...

[Gremlin]

Soften him up to receiving tips. Some refuse to listen, so first you have to make sure he is.

Find the closest instructor, and get him to book in on a refresher course. The instructors can normally accomodate all skill levels etc.

[yod]

don't bin it

[The Baron]

Respect the bike.
Start on a smaller, cheaper bike and then get the one you want.
Ride with others. they are worth there weight in gold.

[PirateJafa]

Do a skid bro.

[Taz]

Look where you want to go.

[spookytooth]

dont join KB

[jrandom]

... get some training. You couldn't ride properly the last time around either.

What he said.

And, of course, we all know that when James Deuce says 'training', he means 'trackdays'.

Which is pretty hard to argue with.

[jrandom]

Do a skid bro.

Do a flip!

[James Deuce]

Dan, I'm thoroughly sick of the personal attacks.

[Owl]

As is so often the case - they think they can just jump back on a bike

They can!:yes:


and it will be the same as it was x years ago.

It won't!:no:


Obv. they learn pretty quick that they are really rusty.

They will!:yes:


If you could give one tip / hint / reminder to a returning rider - what would it be?

Pull the clutch in when starting the bike!:D

[gunnyrob]

As a rider who successfully returned after a 15 year break, I'd like to suggest doing the refresher training thing.

BMW Auckland organised a "return to riding" course which was bloody exellent. They supplied bikes & gear & pointed out what had changed technology wise, from goretex to ABS. We then spent half a day on a go-kart track, doing all the basics.

I got the bug again.

I also had access to a 250, and borrowed it from Krayy evry other weekend or so just to get my basis experience levels up. By then I decided to take the plunge & get back in, so I bought all my gear when Colemans Suzuki had a 25% off sale.

Next, was deciding what sort of riding to do. I was inspired by Ewan & Charlie, and so Krayy & I rented a F650PD and did an east cape tour. It's on the site somewhere.

I liked the idea of adventure touring so the bikes were shortlisted to: Tiger (competent), BMW R1200GS (brutally efficient but expensive) and the Buell Ulysses (cool but more road biased) As it happened, the R1200 came along on tardme, and I bit, hook line & sinker, sight unseen, and having never even taken one for a test ride!

A bit over the top for a first returning bike? The top speed is not too insane (205 km/h) the torque is amazing and the ABS and anti-dive is a life saver.

I attended the Wednesday night mentoring sessions with Big Boss Man in henderson, hung around with the 250cc learners rides and did the ATNR on a regular basis. I'm now club Captain of the RNZAF Auckland Road riding division and have just done an excellent tour of the South Island with no dramas. Over 20 months I've racked up 25,000 km and have a clean licence, (I don't use a radar detector) haven't dropped the bike at speed (just on a hairpin during a gravel ride, but that happens) and love being on the bike.

In summary, get a sane bike, get all the gear, get training, get a good attitude, get riding.:2thumbsup

Good luck to your mate, see you at a ride.

[AD345]

Advice to a returning rider?

You have already fulfilled, or moved beyond the point of being ABLE to fulfill, your evolutionary purpose.

Nature doesn't need you any more.

[sondela]

They can!:yes:



It won't!:no:



They will!:yes:



Pull the clutch in when starting the bike!:D
Don't forget to turn the kill switch back on after you used it to stop.. it looks rather amateurish when you can't get the bike to start an you have to ask someone..
The training days are excellent and a must do..

[NighthawkNZ]

go and unlearn what they thought they knew... and relearn what they should know

[slofox]

Ride with others.

Not sure I agree with this - I am better on my own - no trying to "keep up" that way. I spent over six months pootling round on my own before I went near a group ride. I am much more circumspect if I think nobody is watching....but than, maybe that's just me.
Now that I am approaching the year back on bike mark, I am doing an advanced ride course on Tuesday - just to take stock and get some pointers as to what I could do better.

[RC1]

dont listen to advice from KB :eek:

[KiwiKat]

dont listen to advice from KB :eek:

Disregard the above disregard KB advice post. 90% of the advice is valid. Ride at your own pace and if your head is telling you to go faster and your chest is saying slow down FFS slow down. Group rides are good but don't die to be a hero.

[Mikkel]

Advice - only the usual: Leave your ego at home and enjoy your ride.

[sunhuntin]

Not sure I agree with this - I am better on my own - no trying to "keep up" that way. I spent over six months pootling round on my own before I went near a group ride. I am much more circumspect if I think nobody is watching....but than, maybe that's just me.
Now that I am approaching the year back on bike mark, I am doing an advanced ride course on Tuesday - just to take stock and get some pointers as to what I could do better.

id agree with that. i went on a dummy ride once with the ulysses, cos i hadnt ridden the road and wanted to know it before the actual ride. we happened to have a returning rider who gone and bought the biggest, fastest bike his pension could buy. we had to go over a gentle hill, me at the back like always. i get to the top, and theres mr returning rider, sitting in a ditch with his bike, both facing the way he had just come. im glad he binned it on a test ride, with less that 20 riders and all strung out, than just showing up on the day with a few hundred riders and potentially taking out a few others at the time.

so, in short... relearn your limits either alone or with one or two friends, on friendly roads before going on the big group ride. and even then, stay to the back where if you do stuff up, theres less people to run over you.

[Kevnz]

Start off on a 250cc for at least 6 months and wear all the gear ...

[oldrider]

The older we get the better we were! :ride:

He doesn't need your advice and won't thank you for it either. :oi-grr:

The more he rides his bike the quicker he will work it out for himself anyway. :shifty:

If he does need your advice he shouldn't have bought one but I don't think you will be able to tell him that will you! :slap: Cheers, John.

[Duke girl]

Be aware of your surroundings, ride to survive, know and understand the bike you are riding and the limits to which you feel safe in doing so and stick to the speed limits as there are more cars and police on the roads today than there were years ago. Just enjoy each ride you go on and always look forward to the next 1.

[Tank]

He doesn't need your advice and won't thank you for it either. :oi-grr:


I smart enough to know that - we chat about riding over beers - its just a topic of conversation.

With my skill set (very small) - Im the last person to be offering advise - Im the learner not the mentor.

Im sure it wont be an issue.

[Ixion]

One piece of advice ?

"You're going to die". That should cover it. Repeat to his wife/boyfriend/partner/goat.

Either he'll drop the whole idea . Sorted

Or he'll laugh. In which case, he's going to die and no point you wasting time on it

Or he'll ask how he can not die. In which case he maybe won't, doesn't matter what you tell him, just him asking the question is all that's needed

[BMWST?]

what sort of training is available for a rr in welly?

[Skyryder]

I ride with a mate who is a returning rider.

As is so often the case - they think they can just jump back on a bike and it will be the same as it was x years ago.

Obv. they learn pretty quick that they are really rusty.

If you could give one tip / hint / reminder to a returning rider - what would it be?

Best reply gets some bling in about May 2012 when my infractions run out.

Stay off KB :bash: But on a seriouse note.............softly softly untill you have reaquired biker road reading skills. It's a different world out there on a bike than in a car. Took me about six months to a year for full adjustment with a big bike and knowing I can never ride the way I did when younger.

Skyryder

[Krayy]

...
A bit over the top for a first returning bike? The top speed is not too insane (205 km/h) the torque is amazing and the ABS and anti-dive is a life saver.
...
ABS and paralever? You are SO ghey :bleh:

Bugger that, get a Buell XB12 with wheel lifting torque in every gear and picks that can throw you over the handle bars if you yank them too hard...then lie to the wife about how sensible you are on rides :Punk:

[slofox]

...then lie to the wife about how sensible you are on rides :Punk:

but but but ... I AM sensible on rides!!! mostly...